Zoology XI c

Civets of the Duars of West Bengal, India

1. Wild Civet of duars (Series: XII a) Tusar Kanti Ghosal M.Sc Ph.D Email: [email protected] Dated: 19.11.2018

2. Civets or Genets Viverridae  is a family of small to medium-sized Mammals, the  viverrids  , comprising 15 genera, which are subdivided into 38 species. This family was named and first described by John Edward Gray in 1821.  Members of this family are commonly called  civets  or  genets . Viverrids are found in South East Asia, across the Wallace Line, all over Africa, and into Southern Europe. Their occurrence in Sulawesi and in some of the adjoining islands shows them to be ancient inhabitants of theOld World Tropic.

3. Viverrid Civet of Indian sub-continent Scientific clasification Kingdom: Animalia Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Viverridae Subfamilies and Genera Hemigalinae : Hemigalu , Chrotogale , Cynogale , Diplogale Paradoxurinae : Arcticti , Arctogalidia , Macrogalidia , Paguma , Paradoxurus Prionodontinae : Prionodon linssang , Prionodon pardicolor Viverrinae : Civettictis , Genetta , Poiana , Viverra , Viverricula

4. Common Name: Asian palm civet, Common palm civet, Toddy cat. Scientific Name: Paradoxurus hermaphroditus ( Pallas, 1777) Bengali Name: Khatash ,  Bham ,  Bham Beral , Mohul   Asian Palm Civet is one of the small species of viverrid , native to India and Southeast Asia. The Asian palm civet has very broad range of habitats and hunted for bush meat. Source.

5. Asian Palm Civet Notes: * Though its taxonomic status has not still been evaluated, 30 different kinds of subspecies have been described between 1820 and 1992. * The animal has an affinity for palm flower sap that ferments into a sweet liquor – ‘toddy’. Hence they are also called the ‘Toddy Cat’. * The palm civets have the ability to distinguish between animal species, gender, and familiar/unfamiliar individuals by the odor of the perineal gland secretion. * Like many people mistake, the Asian Palm Civet is technically neither a cat nor a monkey (though they are often colloquially called ‘cat’). In parts of India, these animals are killed for their meat to extract a kind of processed oil used indigenously as a cure for scabies. The Asian palm civets are popular for aiding in the production of the world’s most expensive coffee, the ‘Kopi Luwak ’ or ‘Gourmet Civet Coffee’, sold for up to over one $100/pound in the world market. They are also known since ages for their sweet-smelling musk, which is still used for the production of expensive perfumes. The scent glands in their anus emit a nauseating secretion, which is a chemical defense used when upset or threatened

6. Common Name: Large Indian civet Scientific name: Viverra zibetha Linn. 1758 Sub-species of Duars : Viverra zibetha zibetha  (L. 1758) Bengali Name : Mecho-vondor, Bagdasa, Khatash   Ditribution : Northeast India, Duars of India, Bangladesh to Myanamar , Bhutan, Nepal, Thailand, malay , and Singapore to Cambodia, Laos, Viettnam and China.

7. Common Name: Small Indian Civet Scientific Name: Viverricula indica Geoffroy Saint- Hilaire , 1803 Sub-species of Duars : Viverricula indica paptisstae (Pocock,1933) Bengali Name: Gandhogokul , Sorel, Sagor   Khatash ,  Bham Small Indian Civet occurs in most of India and adapted different living conditions such as grassland,scrub and agricultural areas. V. i . baptistæ  ( Pocock , 1933)- ranges from Bhutan and Upper Bengal to Assam .

8. Common Name: Masked Palm Civet, Himalayan palm civet Scientific Name : Paguma larvata (Hamilton-Smith, 1827) Masked Palm Civet is one of the smaller species of civet, found throughout the jungles of the Indian sub-continent. The masked palm civet is regarded as a single species and hunting for bushmeat . he masked palm civet is distributed from the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent, especially the Himalaya, ranging eastwards across Bhutan, Bangladesh,Andaman and Nicober Island of India, Mynamar ,, Thailand, Malayassia ,, Laos, Combodia , Borneo, Sumatra, taiwan , Japan, Vietnam to China.

9. Brown Palm Civet Brown Palm Civet species is endemic to the rain forests of Western Ghats in South India, mostly appear in Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. The brown palm civet nocturnal animal, spend most of day on tree eating fruits and lianas .

10. Malabar Large Spotted Civet Malabar Large Spotted Civet is listed as critically endangered species of viverrid , endemic to the Western Ghats of India. The Malabar civet are one of the largest species of civet found in world.

11. Binturong or bearcat Binturong or bearcat is a viverrid species found only in hills of North east and recorded only in Manas National Park in Assam. Pakke Tiger Reserve of Arunachal Pradesh is another place where Binturong species found in India.

12. Musky scent used in perfumery A civet is a small, lithe-bodied, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different mammal species. Most of the species diversity is found in southeast Asia. The best-known civet species is the African civet,  Civettictis civetta , which historically has been the main species from which was obtained a musky scent used in perfumery. The word  civet  may also refer to the distinctive musky scent produced by the animals.

13.   Musk scent used in perfumery Musk  is a class of aromatic substances commonly used in perfunery . They include glandular secretions from animals such as the Muk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors.  Musk  was a name originally given to a substance with a strong odor obtained from a gland of the musk deer. The substance has been used as a popular perfume fixative since ancient times and is one of the most expensive animal product. The deer gland was thought to resemble a scrotum. It is applied to various plants and animals of similar smell and has come to encompass a wide variety of aromatic substances with similar odors, despite their often differing chemical structures and molecular shapes.

14. Other animals produce musky scent Siberian musk deer: Moschus moschiferus   Muskrat : Ondatra zibethicus (a rodent native to North Ameriaca ) Musk duck: Biziura lobata (southern Autralia ) Musk beetle : Aromia moschata Musk turtle : Sternotherus odoratus Musk :  L ungurion  (American alligator of North America) And Muskox , Musk shrew etc.

15. REFERENCES Blanford , W.T. (1888–91). Fauna of British India. Mammalia . Taylor and Francis, London. pp. 111–112. Pocock , R.I. (1933). "The Palm Civets or 'Toddy Cats' of the genera  Paradoxurus  and  Paguma  inhabiting British India".  Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society .  36 : 856–877. Wozencraft , W.C. (2005). Order Carnivora . In Wilson D.E.; Reeder, D.M. Mammals specie of the world: A taxonomic and geographic references (3 rd Ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 532–628. Mudappa , D. (2006). "Day-bed choice by the brown palm civet ( Paradoxurus jerdoni ) in the Western Ghats, India".  Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde .  71  (4): 238–243. Choudhury , A.; Duckworth, J.W.; Timmins, R.; Chutipong , W.; Willcox , D.H.A.; Rahman , H.; Ghimirey , Y. & Mudappa , D. (2015). Viverricula indica . The IUCN Red Lit of Threatened species . IUCN. 2015 Timmins, R.J.; Duckworth, J.W.; Chutipong , W.; Ghimirey , Y.; Willcox , D.H.A.; Rahman , H.; Long, B. & Choudhury , A. (2016). Viverricula indica . The IUCN Red Lit of Threatened species . IUCN. 2016

16. Published : 19.11.2018